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I see that Royal now has a Panama Canal cruise itinerary up for March 2013 on the Vision of the Seas! That's my dream trip and I'm itching to book. Before I do, though, I want to make sure that we pick the right cabin. Most of the ones available are on the 7th floor (D1 and D2). One is right next to the card room. For those of you who have sailed on the VOS, is the view from the 7th floor balconies blocked by the life boats? Also, if you're right next to the card room (it isn't a hump or doesn't look like it), is your view compromised in that location? Any help would be much, much appreciated!!!

__________________Rhapsody of the Seas, B2B, Greece, Turkey and Croatia, October 2017; Grandeur of the Seas, Holiday in the Antilles, December 2016;Adventure of the Seas, March 2016, B2B, Southern Caribbean; Grandeur of the Seas, November 2015, Bahamas; Vision of the Seas, Western Caribbean, March 2015; Legend of the Seas, Panama Canal, April 2014; Brilliance of the Seas, Southern Caribbean, March 2013; Carnival Conquest, Western Caribbean, March 2012; Adventure of the Seas, Southern Caribbean, April 2011; Brilliance of the Seas, Med & Greek Isles, October 2010; Voyager of the Seas, Western Caribbean, February 2009; Empress of the Seas, Southern Caribbean, January 2008; Radiance of the Seas, Eastern Caribbean, March 2007; Princess, Bahamas, April 1979

I see that Royal now has a Panama Canal cruise itinerary up for March 2013 on the Vision of the Seas! That's my dream trip and I'm itching to book. Before I do, though, I want to make sure that we pick the right cabin. Most of the ones available are on the 7th floor (D1 and D2). One is right next to the card room. For those of you who have sailed on the VOS, is the view from the 7th floor balconies blocked by the life boats? Also, if you're right next to the card room (it isn't a hump or doesn't look like it), is your view compromised in that location? Any help would be much, much appreciated!!!

No life boat issues on the Vision class! I think we are booked in 7080 which is next to the card room. We are on one of the S. Caribbean itineraries.

The aft staterooms on the Vision class are also very nice, with big balconies. For the Panama Canal, it is more interesting if you move around the ship as you go through.

Although the first time we did it on a Radiance class ship, our friends had an aft balcony...so we turned the TV onto the bow view channel and watched both views. Make sure you go down to the promenade deck too, to watch the clearance.

So if you can get one of the corner afts on deck 7 or 8 you will have a huge balcony. The staterooms on deck 7 either side of the card room or library are nice because you only have neighbors on one side.

The other side will be a steel wall, just so you know. But we enjoy those mid ship cabins.

Thanks for the info on the Vision class cabins. I would have loved to snag a corner aft but the Panama sailings sell out really quickly. Even the regular aft cabins were gone in a split second. We went ahead and booked the cabin right next to the card room even though I did consider the other side of the ship, which is the side facing shore, specifically because we'd only have neighbors on one side. We smoke unfortunately and were hoping to at minimize the number of people we impact. Not a perfect solution but it's where we are now. On the other side of the ship, we'd have a better view but there would be neighbors all around. We do plan to stay on the ship during the crossing and will make sure to go down to the Promenade while we're in the locks. Thanks again!

__________________Rhapsody of the Seas, B2B, Greece, Turkey and Croatia, October 2017; Grandeur of the Seas, Holiday in the Antilles, December 2016;Adventure of the Seas, March 2016, B2B, Southern Caribbean; Grandeur of the Seas, November 2015, Bahamas; Vision of the Seas, Western Caribbean, March 2015; Legend of the Seas, Panama Canal, April 2014; Brilliance of the Seas, Southern Caribbean, March 2013; Carnival Conquest, Western Caribbean, March 2012; Adventure of the Seas, Southern Caribbean, April 2011; Brilliance of the Seas, Med & Greek Isles, October 2010; Voyager of the Seas, Western Caribbean, February 2009; Empress of the Seas, Southern Caribbean, January 2008; Radiance of the Seas, Eastern Caribbean, March 2007; Princess, Bahamas, April 1979